The Role of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Development of the VAT System

Abstract

It is not an exaggeration to say that, in the VAT system, the Court of Justice of the European Union is the main driver of legal interpretation and the guardian of legislative alignment. In its judgments it sets out the guidelines that serve as standards for the application of the law. It is therefore important to understand the framework that determines the Court’s activities. In the following, I will briefly introduce the principles which are the cornerstones of the Court’s decision-making mechanism in the VAT system and I will give insight into how these principles are applied in individual legal cases.